


this tired world could change

by laikaspeaks



Series: Summer Rose Court Poly AU [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Study, F/F, Fluff, Pollination, Romance, Spoilers, Summer Rose Court
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 06:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15746562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laikaspeaks/pseuds/laikaspeaks
Summary: Weakness was never a luxury that Blake could afford - less so now that the world isn't ending. Even with the ear of a queen there's so much to do and so little time, and Blake isn't sure she remembers what rest and security feel like. Little does she know, her lovers are 100% willing to fill in the gaps.





	this tired world could change

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Summer Rose Court [A RWBY Fan Game]](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/408396) by Summer Rose Studios. 



“Are you going to open the door, Blake?”

Ruby was still waiting for a response, plucking anxiously at her Rose-red hair, her soft grey eyes round with concern. Even at this particular moment she was so concerned for Blake’s feelings. Blake almost wanted to say it out loud. _I don’t want this. I don’t need this._

“Let’s look inside?” She managed to claw a smile out of some corner of herself, and was gratified to see Ruby relax.

A slight hand tangled with hers, drawing her toward the door. She never got over how unexpectedly tough Ruby’s hands were despite their gentleness. Blake really wished that it didn’t make her cheeks heat. She wasn’t supposed to be this easy to fluster. She wasn’t supposed to be wrapped around the Rose Queen’s little finger. That's what they called Ruby now, the Rose Queen, like she wasn't even a person anymore.

The room was more subdued than she expected. It was a circle about two arm spans across at the widest point and low enough that Blake could easily jump up to grab the bare beams if she wished. There was also a window - just big enough for her to slip through if needed, she noted absently - set deep into the wall opposite the door. There was little in the room but a small cot, a table, chair and pitcher. Small touches of luxury broke up the sparse surroundings: a colorful rug softened the floor, a thick blanket and pillow piled neatly at the base of the cot, a little planter of wildflowers perched on the windowsill. Tiny hints of Ruby, Weiss, and Yang.

Yang spoke up for the first time since she opened the door - Blake could _hear_ a grin spreading over her features. “It was Ruby’s idea, but we all wanted you to have a place for yourself. Ya know, where you can wind down a bit.”

“There’s no need to take it out of obligation.” Weiss, of course, always encouraging her to be as blunt as the knight herself.

Ruby nodded quickly in agreement in the corner of Blake’s eye. “I - we thought you could use somewhere to... run to. If you need it. When you need it.”

 _A room to hide._ What a beautifully crafted monument to her failures. The key cut into her hand, cold iron grounding her the way Ruby’s hand on her forearm could not.

“Before you say anything!” Ruby held up her hands when Blake turned to look at her, as if to ward away Blake’s incoming objections. “You give so much of yourself to the things that matter.”  

“You’re burning yourself out.” A cool hand settled in the crook of Blake’s elbow.

A warm one settled on her shoulder. “It’s starting to worry us, you know.”

They nudged her further into the little space, and Blake wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to shrug them off or not. Thankfully the both of them seemed to recognize her discomfort on their own and removed their hands almost in unison. She quickly saw why they were so determined to get her into the room. To the right of the door there was a set of narrow shelves carved into the wall, but it took a long minute for Blake to actually register the contents.

Each shelf contained a neat row of brand new books, bound in jewel-bright embossed leather. They smelled like… Velvet?

Blake couldn’t quite bring herself to touch them, her fingertips falling just short of skimming the spines. The titles weren’t just familiar. These were copies of her most-loved stories, the ones she read so often that she could recite them in her sleep, so that the act of reading the words was more for comfort than anything else.

Runes sparkled on the spine of each book. A refined version of the ones that decorated the shelves of the royal library. Blake could handle them as much as she liked without fear of damage. That had Weiss' fingerprints all over it, she had a wonderful attention to detail. 

Ruby vibrated subtly at her side, a displacement of air like a bird passing close. “You remember the literacy project we were working on? I… um, well the faunus that we employed to copy the books made these as well.”

Blake couldn’t find the words for the ugly conflict swirling in her chest. She wanted to accept the gift graciously and at the same time the very thought burned. Books were rare and jealously guarded to the point that they were more signs of status than anything else. A library of books for the public was revolutionary. Blake herself owning a private collection was unthinkable.

The disconnect was so jarring that she was knocked a full step outside herself.

“How did you get Velvet to agree to this?” The seamstress served as the representative for the workers hired from the menageries, and she certainly wasn’t going to do Ruby any favors. She always came away with her pound of flesh. That iron will was something that Blake admittedly admired, despite the fact that they were at odds over the young queen.

“I paid extra. Velvet agreed.” Ruby shrugged and flashed Blake a wry smile. “She’s more comfortable when she thinks she knows what I want. It worked out for both of us this time.”

That certainly sounded like Velvet.

Yang edged into Blake’s vision and smiled, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “Look, I know you don’t like keeping anything for yourself, but -”

“ - we’ve been saving the funds for a while. Working on this ourselves.” Weiss finished, crossing her arms almost defensively, as if expecting Blake to argue. “No one’s lost anything for us to give this to you.”

“I - ” Blake had to try again. Her words caught in her throat, “I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I should - there are people who need these books more than -”

“You deserve it. More importantly you need it.” Ruby said firmly, and even without the crown or the armor or the weight of an order, the way she lifted her head marked her as a queen. It was her smile that softened her edges, and gave Blake glimpses of the ordinary girl she could have been. The ordinary girl she was, maybe, before she came here.

“If you accept, when you close this door,” Ruby’s knuckles rapped gently against the sturdy wooden frame, “Nobody will open it but you. So… you won’t have to run away, and worry about whether or not you’ll be able to come back.”

Ruby leaned up so slowly, giving Blake time to pull away. Blake was sharply reminded of the night the school nearly burned, of the two of them truly alone for the first time, and Ruby’s silver eyes bright and close enough to make Blake moonstruck. Except this time Ruby’s forehead was pressed against hers already. This time Blake knew for sure that Ruby loved her back. This time her loyalties weren’t torn.

“You’ll know we’re waiting for you outside this door.”

“Thank you.” That was all she could manage, and it felt inadequate in the face of everything she wanted to say.

The moment was promptly and thoroughly ruined in the best of ways.

They were nearly bowled over by a blonde tornado, a muscular arm smushing both of them together to Yang’s side. “I’d say get a room, but we’re already in one.”

“Let go of me you - ” Weiss’ voice was sharp in her ear, making the one closest flatten to Blake’s skull on instinct.

She peered over Yang’s shoulder and nearly choked on her laughter. Weiss was less caught up in the embrace than she was trapped in an affectionate headlock. Her struggles were half-hearted at best; Blake once saw her launch Yang out of a window in a fit of pique. The two quickly fell into old patterns of bickering back and forth, with Ruby falling into the familiar role of playing referee. Blake never in her life had a taste for clamor, but she sank into this noise and let it wrap around her like a blanket. This was her home. Her family. The people who handed her the lock and key and didn’t ask that she always be an open door.

Only that she open it again when she was ready.

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you wondering why Blake "I've been an activist since I was in diapers" Belladonna doesn't know how to pace herself, it's less that she does't know how and more that she's overwhelmed by the sudden possibilities open to her now. Ruby can actually help her make things happen, and frankly has probably been empowering Blake as much as she can manage without getting angry nobles all up in their business. 
> 
> I was also really intrigued with how Blake would react to having some of the first real symbols of her new status, and how that would play into her self-image.
> 
> The only beta I have is a betta and he can't read.


End file.
